The original deadline for the European Commission to rule on Virgin Music Group’s proposed acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings was 26 November, although that was then extended until 10 December.
Now that date appears to be in question, after the EC paused its investigation into the deal. Why? According to Reuters, it’s because some requested information has yet to be provided.
“The ‘clock’ in merger investigations can be suspended if the parties fail to provide, in a timely fashion, an important piece of information that the Commission has requested from them (for its competition assessment) within a prescribed deadline,” its spokesperson told the news organisation.
VMG parent UMG has always said that it expected to close the deal – if approved – in the second half of 2025. That may now slip into 2026, depending on what new deadline the Commission sets itself to make a decision.
In other news relating to the deal, Impala board member (and former chairman and president) Kees van Weijen has published a post this morning hitting back at criticism of independent bodies’ opposition to the proposed acquisition.
Those critics have included Downtown Music CEO Pieter van Rijn, VMG co-CEOs Nat Pastor and JT Myers, and PIAS co-founder Kenny Gates. The latter was the most pointed, with Gates – also a co-founder of Impala – accusing the body of having become “a small-minded, inward-looking organization”.
van Weijen made a point of hailing “great collaboration between Universal and Impala on important issues such as TikTok and artificial intelligence” before pushing back on the pressure on the indie bodies over the views they have voiced on the Downtown deal.
“In the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe it is the independents who invest deeply in local artistic risk. They nurture the voices, genres, and stories that major labels may overlook and that is why I will not be silenced,” he wrote.
“We need multiple, robust distribution channels with operational resilience… If distribution diminishes and independents are squeezed, entire national music ecosystems risk collapse, giving market leaders outsized control of the sector.” continued van Weijen.
“This is not theoretical; it is already happening. Just look at how UMG pushed through so-called ‘Streaming 2.0’ – the impact is huge for developing artists and labels in small country or niche genres.”
Everyone concerned will be waiting for the EC to reach its decision on whose arguments carry more weight – and seemingly that wait will now be longer than expected. Perhaps that delay will provide some time to think about mending some of the bridges blown up during the lobbying process.
As van Weijen’s article highlighted, there are issues – particularly AI at the moment – where the independent bodies are vital lobbying partners for the major labels. Whether the Downtown deal is approved or rejected by regulators, finding a way back to a unified front for other important issues is going to be important.
